Cuba arrests 17 for luring young men to fight for Russia

Cuban authorities said they arrested 17 people in connection to a human-trafficking ring that allegedly coaxed young Cuban men to fight for Russia against Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the Cuban foreign ministry exposed a Russian trafficking operation used to entice Cubans into the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. Cuba condemned the recruitment racket and the interior ministry said authorities were working to “neutralize and dismantle” the network.

Hacked Documents Reveal Russia’s Contracts for Cuban Mercenaries in Ukraine

Russia is coordinating the recruitment of over a hundred Cuban mercenaries for its war effort in Ukraine, according to hacked documents obtained by The Intercept.

Activist hackers known as the “Cyber Resistance” and allied to the Ukrainian government recently infiltrated the personal email account of a Russian officer in the Western Military District who was involved in the recruitment of Cubans. The stolen data offers rare and previously unseen insight into how Russia operates its pipeline of foreign mercenaries into the Ukraine conflict.

Cuba exposes Russian human trafficking ring for military recruitment

The Cuban government has exposed a Russian trafficking operation used to lure Cubans into the war against Ukraine, Cuban authorities announced Monday.

“The Ministry of the Interior has detected and is working to neutralize and dismantle a human trafficking network operating from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine,” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Cuba uncovers network trafficking Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine

Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that has coerced Cuban citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said, adding that authorities were working to “neutralize and dismantle” the network.

The ministry’s statement on Monday gave few details but noted the trafficking ring was operating both in the Caribbean island nation and within Russia.

“The Ministry of the Interior detected and is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine,” the statement said.

Danish children’s rights activist stands trial for people trafficking

The trial on Friday of a high-profile Danish campaigner for children’s rights under people trafficking laws promises to shine a spotlight once more on the country’s crackdown on asylum, as Scandinavian countries compete to make themselves unattractive destinations for refugees.

Lisbeth Zornig, the country’s former children’s ombudsman and a well-known author, stands accused of allowing a family of Syrians to hitch a ride with her to Copenhagen.

Fact check: Harper's 'human trafficking' plan will do nothing to curb violence against women

The claim: the Conservatives will "stand up for victims" by fighting human trafficking

Stephen Harper announced that his government, if re-elected would continue to combat human trafficking. They'll do this by creating special RCMP human trafficking teams in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, doubling the money currently available for victims of human trafficking and declaring Feb. 22 human trafficking awareness day.

Special Report: Money and Lies in Anti-Human Trafficking NGOs

The United States' beloved - albeit disgraced - anti-trafficking advocate Somaly Mamhas been waging a slow but steady return to glory since a Newsweek cover story in May 2014 led to her ousting from the Cambodian foundation that bore her name. The allegations in the article were not new; they'd been reported and corroborated in bits and pieces for years. The magazine simply pointed out that Mam's personal narrative as a survivor of sex trafficking and the similar stories that emerged from both clients and staff at the non-governmental organization (NGO) she founded to assist survivors of sex trafficking, were often unverifiable, if not outright lies.

Human trafficking research reveals Canada's role in violence against Aboriginal women

Canada's response to the safety concerns of Indigenous women and girls has garnered significant attention in recent months. Alongside high-profile debates about Canadian sex work laws and the experiences of Aboriginal women and girls in sex industries, significant attention has focused on Canada's response, or lack of response, to the nearly 1,200 murdered and missing Aboriginal women and girls.

Similarly, recent discussions of human trafficking have foregrounded the vulnerability of Indigenous girls and women. In 2012, both an RCMP report and the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking specifically label Aboriginal women and girls as having heightened risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.

New Human Trafficking Laws Now Passed In 39 U.S. States: Report

Cindy McCain spoke out Wednesday not as a businesswoman or a politician's wife but as a modern-day abolitionist, fighting human trafficking at a time when activists estimate more people are enslaved than at the pinnacle of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

McCain, who co-chairs the Arizona Task Force on Human Trafficking, joined a press call highlighting a newly released report from the Polaris Project. According to the report, 39 states have now passed updated, strong anti-trafficking laws.

Kihew Energy Services Guilty Of Human Trafficking Offences In Northern Alberta

Kihew Energy Services Ltd. has been found guilty of human smuggling offences after authorities busted a million-dollar human trafficking operation in northern Alberta.

Kihew, headed by a Ukrainian Orthodox Church pastor, entered a guilty plea in Edmonton provincial court on Tuesday and received a $215,000 fine as a sentence, after 60 foreign workers were brought in to Canada by the Alberta company under the guise of being students at Lakeland College in a scheme that may have earned the firm more than a million dollars, Mounties said.